Darknet – The Darkside

Ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing & Computer Security

It seems like security/pen-testing software can be quite lucrative – especially with the prices Core Security charge for their flagship tool Core Impact (Around $25,000 per seat?).

They have offices in two countries and are now looking to expand into new markets, anyway this is a bit of corporate security news for a change. They have hired a new CEO – ex Sophos executive Mark Hatton.

Less than a year after an executive reshuffle prompted questions about its direction and viability, Core Security Technologies has hired a new chief executive to pilot its push beyond the niche penetration-testing market.

Core Security, which employs about 130 people in offices in Boston, Mass., and Buenos Aires, Argentina, has tapped former Sophos executive Mark Hatton as its new CEO amidst strong hints that new technology pieces could be added to position the company as more than a specialized vulnerability scanning outfit.

“We have a really good opportunity to rise above the niche pen-test market,” Hatton said in an interview with eWEEK. “We already provide very valuable insight as to where vulnerabilities lie and show [an enterprise] the extent of damage that can occur. We can add a few pieces and provide a much more unified view of how well the security infrastructure is working.”

Their product is very good and the reporting capabilities are way better than the free software out there (that matters a lot when turn-around time is short in a commercial pen-test or VA).

I wonder what markets they are going to move into? Perhaps log aggregation or system architecture security management (more like GFI Languard?).

Hatton declined to discuss future strategic moves, but a quick glance at his track record at Sophos, an enterprise-facing anti-virus vendor that successfully repositioned itself as a full-fledged endpoint security player, suggests that Core Security could be moving in that direction.

“We are in a position today where [Core’s] technology is good and the marketplace is generally opening up,” Hatton said. “If you look at the evolution of Sophos, it was a specialized anti-virus company in the beginning and then it redefined endpoint security and NAC-type offerings. I see Core taking a similar path. We’ll define and evolve this market beyond pen-testing.”

Metasploit Framework has definitely raised some doubts for them though and put them under the spotlight, especially after last year when two of their top honchos left the company. And other much cheaper alternatives like Immunity Canvas.

This is one of the few times you’ll see me talk about commercial software – I tend to stick to the free stuff. Would any one be interested in some info about commercial tools too?

7 Responses to “Core Security to Expand Market with Mark Hatton”

Although I have a slight preference for the GPL’d software, I’d be interested in some commercial software being put to the test. There is no holy grail package for pen testing or VA and I am quite certain the bulk of us use a combination of packages to get the job done.

I’m certainly interested in it, although am unlikely to be affording any.

It’s good to know what the high-paying corporates expect people to be using; cause sometimes there is a bit of the attitude that if they don’t recognise some named package they get suspicious that it won’t really work.
(I mean the folks that hire employees; they don’t always know anything about the actual work needing done, or they’re very vendor-specific.)

It’s also good to know what’s not available on the freeware, as then it’s easier for it to become available there too.

This sucks, I wrote half a page of comments on commercial tools I use and own compared to the opensource alternatives. The antispam math quizz didnt work… so, to boil it down, I’d love more news on commercial tools.